What is the most important point when considering Gangnam SMILE LASIK?
The number of people considering vision correction surgery is increasing due to the inconvenience of wearing glasses during commutes or the hassle of contact lens care. In particular, there are many cases of researching ophthalmology clinics in the Gangnam area where business districts are concentrated, and it is common to experience difficulty in selection as multiple medical institutions are densely packed.
The advantages emphasized by each medical institution are different, and evaluations from patients who have actually received surgery also vary. Therefore, rather than judging simply by looking at advertising materials or deciding based solely on accessibility, it is necessary to thoroughly examine multiple aspects.
Understanding the Surgical Method
Before comparing medical institutions, it is important to understand the surgical method itself. The currently most notable method is SMILE LASIK, an improved form of the limitations of existing LASIK or LASEK.
LASIK is a method of creating a flap on the cornea, folding it back, and then irradiating laser, while LASEK is a method of correcting after removing the corneal epithelium. On the other hand, SMILE LASIK enables vision correction with only a micro-incision of about 2mm.
The incision range is minimized so corneal nerve damage hardly occurs, and as a result, recovery is rapid and pain is minimal. Dry eye syndrome occurrence is also low, and the risk of serious complications such as corneal haze or keratoconus is low. Also, since the cornea is not incised on a large scale, resistance to external impacts is excellent.
Suitable Candidates
It is a suitable choice for occupational groups with active physical activities such as athletes, soldiers, or police, or those who enjoy hiking or ball sports. Recovery is so fast that return to work or daily activities is possible from the day after surgery.
For office workers who have difficulty using long-term vacations, such fast recovery is a major advantage. It proceeds using femtosecond laser technology, and this laser precisely incises only the target area in an extremely short time, with no surrounding tissue damage at all.
Since each individual’s corneal condition is different, laser intensity can be customized, and heat damage can be reduced by minimizing energy. The cornea can be smoothly treated even with low energy, improving vision quality, and corneal fixation methods have improved to reduce pressure on the eyes.
Importance of Medical Staff Proficiency
Since there is no conjunctival area damage, dry eye occurrence rate is low, and central alignment accuracy is high, so there is no sudden visual field darkening phenomenon either. However, no matter how excellent the equipment is, it is meaningless if the medical staff handling it lacks capability.
SMILE LASIK is a method that directly removes the corneal stroma and requires advanced skills. The medical staff’s proficiency greatly influences the results. Safety varies depending on the depth of corneal tissue separation, and there is a difference in post-surgery stability depending on the medical staff’s know-how.
Medical staff with insufficient experience have difficulty predicting corneal changes, and even when using the same equipment, tissue separation and removal ultimately goes through human hands, so skill is key. If tissue removal is not clean, the probability of side effects increases.
Therefore, when choosing Gangnam SMILE LASIK, it is very important to check how many cases the medical staff has experienced and whether they have abundant actual clinical experience. Since SMILE LASIK is not suitable for all patients, precise pre-examination is essential.
Based on examination results, you can decide whether to proceed with surgery after sufficient consultation with medical staff. To obtain safe and satisfactory results, you must establish plans considering not only corneal thickness or vision but also personal factors such as occupation or hobbies.
Corneal Thickness and Safety
Since it is a method of ablating the cornea with laser, if the remaining corneal thickness after surgery is insufficient, corneal ectasia problems can occur. Thinned cornea cannot withstand intraocular pressure and becomes deformed, causing vision to deteriorate again.
While LASIK uses relatively more cornea, SMILE LASIK preserves the surface layer, so even patients with thin corneas can have surgery. It is an option that can be chosen even when the amount of corneal ablation must be large due to severe myopia or astigmatism. However, if post-surgery care is neglected, complications can occur.
Post-Surgery Care
Care is relatively simple and vision recovery is also fast, but this does not mean you don’t need to pay attention at all. Some uncomfortable symptoms may appear immediately after surgery. Feeling dry eyes or the phenomenon of streetlight spreading at night are representative, but these are mostly temporary.
In many cases, they gradually disappear over several weeks to several months, and permanent persistence is rare. On the day of surgery, it is best to refrain from watching smartphones or TV and rest quietly with eyes closed. It is helpful to frequently apply artificial tears prescribed by the medical institution while maintaining sufficient water intake.
Securing sufficient sleep is also important, as it directly affects recovery speed. From the next day, using basic cosmetics or taking light walks is fine. Face washing is also possible, but care should be taken to prevent soap bubbles from entering the eyes.
Commuting to work using public transportation is possible, but it is better to work from home or use half-day leave for a few days if possible. It is safe to avoid sports such as swimming or soccer where water or sweat may enter the eyes for at least 10 days to 2 weeks.
Using a treadmill at the gym is possible from about a week later, but it is better to wait a bit longer for high-intensity exercise that causes excessive sweating. To maintain good vision in the long term, lifestyle improvements are also necessary. It is ideal to take a 10-minute break every 50 minutes when using smartphone or computer screens.
Maintaining a distance of at least 50cm between the screen and eyes and not making the screen brightness excessively high is also beneficial for eye health. Regular examinations should not be missed either. It is common to visit the medical institution every 2 weeks for the first 1-2 months, then once a month, and then every 3 months to check eye condition.
If even a minor problem is discovered during this process, quick action can be taken. The cost issue cannot be avoided mentioning, and it is roughly formed between the early 2 million won range to 4 million won. Price ranges differ by medical institution, but cheaper does not necessarily mean excellent.
Some medical institutions have a price that includes all basic examination fees and regular examination costs, while some only set surgery fees and the rest is separate. When receiving a quote, you should carefully check the items.
You should ask what pre-surgery examination items are, how many post-surgery revisits there are, whether artificial tears or eye drops are provided, and whether additional costs occur if problems arise. When choosing Gangnam SMILE LASIK, there are many factors that should take priority over price.
Selection Criteria
These include examination equipment, medical staff’s career in the vision correction field, actual number of procedures performed, and whether a response system is established in case of complications.
Whether the medical staff allocates sufficient time for explanation when receiving Gangnam SMILE LASIK consultation is also an important judgment criterion. An atmosphere where you can sufficiently ask questions while taking about 20-30 minutes is more trustworthy than a consultation that ends in 5 minutes.
Reviews from patients who have actually received surgery are also worth referring to, and it is good to look for honest experiences on Naver blogs or various communities, not just looking at medical institution website posts. In particular, posts mentioning side effects or inconvenient aspects are often more helpful.
Since this is a matter of eye health that will be used for a lifetime, rather than consulting only one or two places and making an immediate decision, a process of visiting at least 3-4 places and comparing is necessary. Even if it takes time and effort, choosing after sufficient research is the way to avoid future regrets.
If you would like to know more about SMILE LASIK, please visit our website!
https://www.gseyecenter.com/smile/03/